


Sacrifices, Sorcery, and Solicitation

by dippkip



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Justice League: War, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: I also love Bruce and Jason's bromance and nobody seems to talk about it so, M/M, because I like that team and their dynamics, because Jason Blood is wonderful and isn't in nearly enough media, except for Batman's, set about a year after JL:War, that's honestly the main reason I wrote this, the entire team knows each other's secret identities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 19:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7859098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dippkip/pseuds/dippkip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Batman runs into a bit of trouble during a League mission. Superman just wants to help, but apparently that means retrieving an old friend of Batman’s who has a bit more experience with these sorts of things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Batman in Peril

“Does anyone have eyes on Batman yet?”

“I can hear chanting further down in the tunnels, Superman. If everyone can meet me here, I can take us to him.”

“You heard her, everyone converge on Wonder Woman’s location and be ready for anything.”

Clark tried to sound as confident as he always did, but he found it difficult to muster the necessary bravado. Batman had been unaccounted for after the League had a skirmish with a group of mages, but a brief moment of focused super-hearing put him with a group of stragglers, and with a much slower pulse than normal – they must have knocked him out and taken him from the battlefield.

Clark knew that the Dark Knight was a force to be reckoned with, even when the odds didn’t seem to be in his favor, but magic always put Clark on edge, and the chanting was doing nothing to ease his concerns. He converged with the rest of the League in a wide tunnel that was part of a large network of catacombs that they’d traced the mages to. They all put on an extra burst of speed as the chanting grew louder, until they all broke through a set of heavy iron doors.

Their grand entrance did nothing to disturb the room’s occupants. The robed mages were standing in a circle around a large, upright slab of stone, which Batman was chained to by his wrists and ankles, straining to free himself even as he visibly smothered the urge to cry out in pain. Runes glowed in a circle on the floor around the slab, quickly becoming brighter as the chanting seemed to reach some kind of crescendo.

Clark smothered his rising panic and threw himself at the circle, hoping to interrupt before the spell could complete, but a bright flash of light knocked them all back. While they were blinded, an ominous voice began to echo throughout the cavern, saying, “The sacrifice has been made – the monster is ours now to control. Goodbye, Justice League. This is your end.”

The room cleared, revealing the mages once again, but Batman was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the slab, really, since it was likely crushed under the girth of what stood in its place.

“You’ve gotta be kiddin’ me.”

Clark didn’t always appreciate Hal’s commentary, but he silently agreed with the Lantern’s assessment. They were face-to-face with an immense black dragon, with scales so dark that it was difficult to really discern its mass from the shadows in the catacombs. Its tail lashed though the air behind it, kicking up small clouds of dirt, while its massive claws dug gouges out of the cave floor as it flexed its feet, and its silvery wings filled the entire room when it stretched them to their full reach. Its lips parted in a quiet growl, allowing the dim torchlight to glint off its fangs, and thin, catlike pupils set in bright blue eyes turned their focus to the stunned League members. There was a brief moment of assessment from both parties, but then all hell broke loose.

The cavern walls shook with the dragon’s roar, but it also served to shake the heroes out of their stupor. Diana led the charge, quickly tossing her lasso around its muzzle and pulling it tight. Hal and Billy followed her lead, charging in to land heavy blows to the creature’s front legs, allowing Diana to pull it to its knees.

“Flash, Cyborg, make sure those mages don’t escape!” Clark shouted before joining the fray, punching the monster in the face and forcing it even closer to the floor.

It began to thrash its whole body, clearly trying to pull back and out of Diana’s reach, but she quickly drew her sword and leapt onto its back, pulling the lasso and causing the dragon to rear back like a wild stallion. This also caused it to flare its wings, giving Diana the opening she had been looking for – she quickly brought her sword down, stabbing it just between the wing’s joint and its left shoulder.

Even with its jaws held shut, there was an unmistakable bellow of pain, and the dragon tossed its head forward, throwing Diana off and finally ridding itself of her lasso. It howled again and backed away from the Amazon, slamming into the back of the cave and causing the whole room to shudder.

Clark prepared himself for another round, but was drawn short by the unusually contemplative look on Hal’s face.

“Lantern, focus, we need to stop this thing before it brings the whole place down on our heads!” Clark shouted over the cacophony. ~~~~

“I am focused Supes,” Hal insisted, “But ya know, something just occurred to me. Where did this thing come from? Where’s Batman?”

Clark was momentarily thrown by the question, but managed to get out, “Well, they said something about a sacrifice, right? Maybe this thing is from another dimension, but it had to switch places with something here in order to enter, so the mages used Batman as the swap piece.”

Hal nodded sagely, but his eyes narrowed and he scrutinized their opponent closely. “Sounds reasonable, but doesn’t this thing have colors that are kind of familiar? And has it actually attacked us yet? Far as I can tell, it’s spent this entire fight trying to back away and keep out of range.”

Clark’s brows furrowed for a moment, but as he slowly began to understand what Jordan was implying, he felt his stomach drop.

“You don’t mean…”

“What if they didn’t swap Batman for anything – what if that _is_ Batman.”

Clark immediately cried out to his teammates “Everyone stop! We’ve made a mistake _for the love of God, stop!_ ”

Diana and Billy froze, both trying to pin the dragon down by its head and shoulders, but at Clark’s command, the dragon stilled as well, eyes wide and darting between the three of them. Its whole body heaved as it struggled to draw air into its lungs, and Clark could hear its heartbeat pounding like a herd of stampeding wildebeest. He slowly approached it and reached out to put his hand on its snout, stopping when it tried to flinch away.

Instead, he took a deep breath and steeled his resolve before opening his eyes and meeting those of the disoriented beast. Clear blue eyes returned his stare, and both were quiet for a moment, while Clark watched the dragon slowly relax in Billy and Diana’s hold. When it seemed to have its bearings, Clark spoke softly and slowly, trying to avoid startling it, but unable to keep the rising hope out of his tone.

“Batman, is that you?”

Its pupils dilated at the Dark Knight’s name, but for a moment, there wasn’t any indication that it understood him. Then, it tentatively tried to open its jaws, which were still pinned to the ground by Billy.

“Shazam, you can let go,” Clark assured him. After a brief moment of consideration, Billy nodded and slowly released his hold. The massive scaled head lifted from the ground and its gaze locked onto Kal once again.

“Glad somebody finally noticed, though I must admit, I’m disappointed that Jordan, of all people, figured it out before the rest of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I've actually finished this entire story already, so I'll just post a chapter a day over the course of this week. No agonizing wait times here! This is my first stab at a multi-chapter story, so let me know how I did!


	2. Calling for Backup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short. I had to make a sacrifice for the pacing to work out the way I wanted.

Things resolved themselves rather quickly after that. Diana released her hold on Batman and rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, which was still protruding from his shoulder. At his nod, she quickly pulled it out, flinching at his choked moan.

“Please accept my most humble apologies, my friend. I acted rashly, and you paid for it,” Diana said mournfully, head bowed in shame.

“Mmm. Better safe than sorry,” Batman grumbled, gingerly stretching the injured wing before pulling it close to his body.

There was a brief moment of almost awkward silence as the group continued to gawk at the state of their teammate, who seemed much more focused on inspecting himself than their speechlessness, when Barry and Victor trudged back into the room.

“We lost ‘em. They used some kind of illusion spell to throw us off, but by the time we realized, they were way too deep in the tunnels for us to find them again,” Barry groaned, taking a spot by Hal and warily eyeing the scaled beast curled up in the middle of the room.

“Sooooo, this thing with us now or what?” Victor asked, crossing his arms defensively.

“Ah, technically it always has been,” Hal mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

Batman finally returned his attention to his teammates and deadpanned, “I’m hurt. You can’t see the resemblance?”

Victor and Barry flinched when he spoke, but it didn’t take long before they both cried, “ _Batman!?!_ ”

Clark sighed, “Apparently, the mages were trying to transform him and put him under some kind of binding spell so they could have their own personal attack dragon, but the binding part mustn’t have panned out the way they were expecting.”

“Soooooooo, does that make him Batdragon now?”

Batman didn’t dignify Victor’s inquiry with any response, instead turning to Diana.

“Do you have any experience with this kind of magic, Wonder Woman?”

Diana hesitated before admitting, “The closest I’ve seen to this is a magic preferred by Circe, but she turns her victims into…regular animals. That is, only animals that can be found in man’s world. I have never seen her turn someone into a magical beast before.”

Batman hummed thoughtfully, bowing his head in contemplation. “How do you usually go about reversing the effects of her magic?”

“Only through her, I’m afraid. She usually demands some sort of favor or sacrifice in exchange for lifting the spell, and I’m not sure that is a viable option for your situation.”

“Probably not,” Batman agreed, scaled brow creasing. Almost reluctantly, he spoke again, “I know…someone who may be able to help, but I’m not sure if he’ll come on your word alone.”

“Well, couldn’t we try and bring you to him?”

Clark could see Batman almost visibly stifle the urge to roll his eyes. “Even if he _didn’t_ live in the middle of Gotham, there are dozens of reasons why it would be bad for me to leave these caves, Superman.”

“Wait, so you don’t plan on leaving?” Barry asked, brows furrowing in concern.

“No. With an injury like this, I’m sure any attempts to fly will end badly, so I’d have to walk, which would not only take too long, but be extremely noticeable. Even if I _could_ fly, there’s too many tracking satellites that could spot me. So no, moving is not an option.”

Billy frowned and asked, “But what about the mages? For all we know, they’re still hiding out down here. What If they come back and try to do that bind-y thing again?”

“If we seal off all entrances to this room except one, I’ll be able to fend them off just fine,” Batman retorted.

Clark cast a concerned look at Batman’s injury before he finally spoke up again, “How about this – Wonder Woman and I will go and track down this…person you say can help, while the rest of the team stays here. Seal off the room, like you said, but I want the others here as backup in case the mages _do_ show up again. You’re injured and unfamiliar with this body, Batman. We shouldn’t take any unnecessary risks here.”

The room was silent as the Dark Knight mulled it over, before grudgingly admitting, “That’s probably the best course of action.”

Clark smiled brightly. “Good, glad we cleared that up. Now, who is this person we’re looking for, and where exactly are they in Gotham?”

It was difficult to tell with his new form, but Clark could have sworn that Batman _smirked_ before answering.

“He lives near the old town district. A man by the name of Jason Blood.”


	3. Jason Blood

Clark and Diana landed silently in the back alleys of Gotham’s old town district, just behind the shop Batman had directed them to.

“It looks like a run-down pawn shop,” he’d told them, “but I wouldn’t touch any of the merchandise if I were you. Most of them are magical artifacts that can do anything from change your hair color to vaporize you.”

After those parting words, Clark was understandably leery of entering, but Diana confidently strode though the door, ringing the small bell that hung from it. There was nobody behind the cluttered counter, nor could Clark spot anyone amongst the shelves of trinkets and knickknacks.

“We seek Jason Blood! If he is here, let him reveal himself!” Diana shouted, causing Clark to flinch. He was about to shush Diana and remind her about inside voices, but a deep, rumbling chuckle drifted from the back of the shop.

“An Amazon _and_ a Kryptonian. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

The man who stepped out was nothing like what Clark expected. When Batman described a magic expert who ran a shop, he admittedly pictured a wizened little old man. The one that stood before him now couldn’t be described with any of those words, not remotely.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, with dark, piercing eyes set under heavy brows. His dark hair was combed back away from his face, highlighting a white streak that shot through like lightning. His outfit – a simple pair of grey slacks, paired with a black turtleneck and a tan coat – seemed plain, but did nothing to detract from the rest of his appearance. In a word, he was handsome. _Extremely_ handsome. Clark wouldn’t admit it, but he was a little disconcerted by this development.

Diana didn’t seem to be having the same issue, or if she was, she did a much better job of concealing it than Clark was. She quickly responded, “We aren’t here for pleasantries. A mutual friend of ours is in need of your help, Blood.”

“Mutual friend, you say? I don’t think we run in the same social circles, your highness,” he responded wryly.

Clark sighed and decided to cut to the chase. “Mr. Blood, Batman was captured by a group of rogue mages and they managed to cast some kind of transformation spell on him. We need your help to turn him back. None of us have the same level of expertise with magic as you, according to him.”

“Call me Jason, please,” he responded, “and Batman, you say? Not many people can claim to know him well enough to be his errand boy.”

Diana’s face darkened and she looked ready to say something about that, but Clark cut her off. “He figured you’d be wary, so he told us to say…”

“Yes?”

Clark sighed again and braced himself. “He said, ‘Tell Jason to get his ancient, crusty ass down here, or I’m going to remind him just how many favors he owes me, not the least of which includes the time an _actual child_ got the best of him.’”

The Kryptonian had ~~e~~ xpected Blood to be…fairly cross with Batman’s message, if not outright offended and potentially violent, but to his surprise, the man burst out laughing, hard enough that he bent over and braced himself on the counter. His laughter slowly tapered off as he caught his breath and straightened out, wiping the corners of his eyes.

“I’d hardly call Klarion a child, but I have no doubts about who that message came from. A transformation spell, you say? Can you tell me anything else about how the spell was cast?”

“Not much else, I’m afraid. There was a group of them chanting around Batman, and a circle of runes between them and the rock they had chained him to. The runes glowed, and there was a bright flash before the completion of the spell,” Diana recounted.

“Hmm. Alright, I’ll have to gather some supplies and close up the shop. Wait for me out front – I’ll be out shortly,” Jason assured them, already moving to the jars of herbs on the shelves behind the counter. Clark looked at Diana, who simply shrugged and began to make for the door. He followed her lead, standing with her on the sidewalk just outside the shop.

“He seems a bit odd, but if Batman trusts him, I suppose we ought to give him a chance,” she muttered, casting a suspicious glance back at the building.

Clark felt the same, but they had a long flight back to the catacombs, and he wanted to make sure Jason was inclined to like at least one of them, so he just offered a sympathetic smile and clapped her shoulder.

“The sooner we can have Batman back in Gotham, the better. I think that’s one thing we can _all_ agree on.”

“Most certainly,” Jason said, appearing out of nowhere and forcing Diana and Clark to act like they didn’t violently flinch. He offered them a placid smile, as though he usually had that effect on people, before continuing, “I’m sure we’d best be on our way, then. Who am I riding with?”

“I can take you Mr. Bl-er, Jason,” Clark offered, slowing reaching out toward the man’s waist to indicate his intended grip. Jason gave him a brief nod before Clark scooped him up, holding him under one arm and taking off alongside Diana. For Jason’s sake, he went much more slowly than usual, and turned to him to ask if he was comfortable, but the conflicted look on his companion’s face stilled his tongue. Clark didn’t want to pry, but Jason had seemed fairly relaxed until now. He finally asked, “Are you alright, Jason?”

The magician blinked a few times before turning to Clark. “My apologies. I was only thinking it’s a shame – we haven’t met up in quite some time, and while I’ll be glad to see him, I would have preferred it under different circumstances.”

“You two…hang out often?” Clark couldn’t help but ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, he’s a busy man, in and out of the cowl. When his schedule opens for a moment, we try to see each other, yes.”

“In and – are you telling me you know who he is? Like, seen him without the mask?”

Jason’s brows both shot up. “Of course. That’s the only way to really befriend the man, after all. You mean to tell me he’s been working with this team for nearly a year and he still hasn’t said anything?”

Clark tried his best to swallow the lump in his throat and smother the irrational surge of jealousy.

“No,” he choked out, “no he hasn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the chapters are all a bit longer from here on out, so you'll get some actual content in each update! But I tried to keep the chapters at a reasonable length - just enough to feel satisfied without being overwhelming, I hope. I also took a few liberties with Jason's day job, but it's something I can see him doing, so I think I can be forgiven.


	4. The Rise of Etrigan

The rest of the flight was silent. Clark tried his best to not let Jason’s words affect him, but he couldn’t help it. He thought he and Batman were – well, maybe not best friends or anything, but they were certainly closer than most of the League members. He’d always been a little hurt that Batman never trusted him with that secret, but he just figured the man didn’t reveal his identity to _anyone_ , so that helped soothe the sting.

To hear that this random guy – who Batman had _never_ mentioned before today – was not only privy to that information, but could confidently say he was _friends_ with the Dark Knight, made something ugly flare in Clark’s chest, and he really didn’t want to examine it too closely.

Thankfully, Diana distracted him from that line of thought by announcing their arrival. He joined her in a slow descent, carefully depositing Jason before allowing his own feet to silently touch down. The magician had already wandered to the mouth of the cave, inspecting the edges of the opening archway.

“This was a group of mages, you said?”

Clark blinked before slowly replying, “Yes? We fought multiple people, and there was definitely a group holding Batman.”

Jason only hummed in response before turning to face them again, sweeping his arm to gesture into the cave.

“I’m afraid I can’t sense the spell from this far off, so if you could please lead the way?”

“Gladly,” Diana replied shortly. Clark tried to give her a warning look, but she stormed past him and into the catacombs. Jason fell into step just behind her, so Clark just sighed and followed along, extending his senses to ensure the mages weren’t waiting to ambush them.

As they got further down, Clark tried hailing the others on his communicator. “League, this is Superman, we’re in the tunnels and we have Blood, so we should have this all in hand soon. Does anyone copy?”

“Loud and clear, Big Blue,” Hal replied, albeit through a bit of static, “we’re all doin’ fine, thanks for asking. Sealed things up just like Spooky wanted, but we haven’t seen a trace of those wackos, so it’s been pretty quiet. Aside from Vic and Billy pestering the Bat with questions about his ah, new look. You may wanna hurry, because he looks like he wants to make an exception to his ‘No Killing’ rule. Barry thinks he’s gonna eat them, but I’ve got money on him figuring out how to breathe fire in the next few minutes.”

“Thank you, Hal, for that enlightening commentary. We’ll be sure to hurry,” Clark deadpanned, rolling his eyes and cutting the transmission. Diana gave him an inquiring look, but he just shook his head.

“Don’t ask. All I got out of it is that we work with a bunch of children, but that’s not exactly news.”

Diana smiled fondly and shook her head, but turned away as they rounded another corner, announcing, “They should be just ahead, Blood.”

“Yes, I can tell,” he said, grinning wryly. “This part of the caverns is completely saturated with magic, with a very familiar bite to it.”

The three of them strode through the broken doors, where the rest of the League was sprawled in various states of sitting or lying down, though all jumped to their feet upon seeing the newcomers.

“You must be Jason Blood,” Barry said, offering his hand. “Thanks for comin’ all the way out here. I’m Flash, and these louts are Green Lantern, Cyborg, and Shazam.”

They both ignored the distant cry of protest (whether it was from Billy or Hal was difficult to say), and Jason took the proffered hand in a firm shake.

“Anything for an old friend. Speaking of which, nobody ever told me what exactly he was turned into,” he released Barry’s hand and moved further into the room, raising his voice. “Batman! I can tell you’re in here! Come into the light! I can’t help you if I can’t assess the problem!”

There was a brief moment of silence before the room was filled with an ominous rumbling. A massive shadow began to separate from the back wall and slowly slid into the torchlight, revealing the ebony scales that were no less impressive the second time around. Batman slowly unfolded himself, rising to stand on all four legs and carefully stretch his wings and neck. His tail made quiet, whispering sounds as the tip flicked across the floor, and his head bent down to look at his audience.

“Merlin’s beard, what _have_ you gotten yourself into this time, B?” Jason asked, looking him up and down in mild disbelief.

“You say that like this is how I _wanted_ my day to go, Jason,” Batman grumbled, eyes narrowing at the magician, but the corners of his lips curling up despite themselves. Clark swallowed another quiet bout of jealousy at the expression, but was distracted when Jason began moving again, circling around Batman and inspecting him closely.

“Are you sure you want to turn back? You seem to be a fine specimen. I don’t think I’ve seen a better-looking dragon in years.”

“Not. Funny. Jason,” the Bat ground out, turning his head to follow the other’s movements.

“Hmm, true. I suppose it’d be rather difficult to get you home looking like this. Let me see what I can do then,” he sighed, taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. He reached into his pocket, but before he could pull anything out, the whole cavern began to tremble.

“Oi, Spooky, what did we say about moving around too much? You tryin’ to get us killed?” Hal cried, forming a quick construct to shield himself from the debris.

“I’m not moving, genius. It isn’t me,” the dragon growled, dropping into a fighting position and bearing his teeth, “but I can definitely smell a familiar stench, and there’s a lot of them incoming.”

Everyone quickly turned to face the door, bracing themselves for the incoming threat. Clark turned to Jason and assured him, “Don’t worry, Mr. Blood, just stay behind us and we’ll keep you safe.”

“I thought I told you to call me Jason,” he responded, smiling cryptically before moving to stand in front of the group, putting himself between them and the door.

“Although,” he turned his head to look at Clark, “you won’t be needing to call me that for much longer.”

He turned to face the incoming wave, and his entire body tensed as he calmly chanted.

“Gone, gone the form of man. Rise, the demon Etrigan _.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay kiddos, Clark's jealous, Etrigan's finally in town, and the story gets real plot! Only a few more days until the final chapter is up!
> 
> Also, in case you couldn't tell, Hal is one of my favorite Leaguers aside from our favorite couple.


	5. The Final Confrontation

The League stood slack-jawed as they watched the shadows in the room curl themselves around Blood. His shape became indistinct, his size swelling as his groan became a drawn-out roar. The shadows finally coalesced, drawing away to reveal a monstrous…well, demon, if the chant was anything to go by.

It was garbed in a red tunic, with a tattered cloak drawn about its shoulders. Impressive claws and fangs, paired with the horns and glowing red eyes, were enough to convince them of the nature of this beast. Its lips twisted into a cruel smirk as it raised its arms towards the first wave of mages that came pouring into the room.

“You are nothing before the might of Etrigan.”

With that, fire spewed from its open palms, scorching the entire lot. They all collapsed, and the next group stepped over them to continue their advance.

Clark shook himself out of his stupor and turned to the League. “C’mon everyone, we can’t let him fight alone. Let’s finish these guys for good!”

And so the fight began in earnest. Spells whizzed through the air, green constructs sent opponents flying, and the room occasionally ratted with Batman’s deep roar as he swept another group away with one pass of his tail.

Frankly, Clark thought the last was almost a distraction – Batman always had a deadly grace about him, but watching his whole body bend and flex as he swiped with his claws, snapped out with his teeth, or flared his wings was something else entirely.

Clark managed to drag his attention away from the sight just in time to see Etrigan grab one of the mages by the throat, shaking them like a terrier with a rat.

“Etrigan, be careful! We don’t want to kill these people, we just need to subdue them!” Clark cried, smacking another halfway across the room.

The demon gave him a disdainful glare and tightened its grip, using the mage to gesture to the others. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? We aren’t fighting fresh waves of warriors, Kryptonian. These bodies are repairing themselves and returning to the fray. Nothing less than lethal force will stop them.”

“Wha-?”

“He’s right, Superman,” Batman interjected, “I’ve been keeping track and I’ve seen the same person four times now. It’s impossible for even talented mages to heal themselves that quickly.”

“So then what are we dealing with here, Batman?” Clark asked in exasperation.

“A necromancer,” Etrigan growled, “Every single one of these warriors are long-deceased puppets, bent to the will of one very powerful master.”

“So that means…?”

Batman bared his teeth in a feral snarl and ground out, “We need to beat these things past the point of repair, and track down the one pulling the strings.”

The dragon began to make an odd sound after that, prompting Clark to turn and see if he was hurt, but his gaze was drawn to the blue light bleeding out between the scales on Batman’s chest.  The light crept up the column of his throat, but it wasn’t until wisps of flame flicked out from between his fangs that Clark realized what was about to happen.

“ _Everyone, take cover!_ ” he cried as he dove behind a fallen boulder.

Not a moment later, the cavern lit up and was filled with bright blue flame. Batman slowly turned his head, spewing fire all across the entryway and catching every mage in his path. After what felt like ages, his jaws finally snapped shut, cutting off the stream. Clark quickly blew a blast of icy wind into the tunnels, dousing the flames with some difficulty, and freezing over the burnt remains of the puppets.

Etrigan approached the Dark Knight, staring at him for a moment before breaking out in what Clark was sure was supposed to be a friendly grin, but looked nothing of the sort on that visage.

“I think I prefer this form to your usual mortal vessel,” it smirked, chuckling when Batman turned a glare on it that made lesser men faint.

“Can you sense the necromancer from here, Etrigan? Is he even in these catacombs, or is this going to become an international manhunt?” he snapped.

“He is here. The energy required to maintain that many vessels can only be achieved at a relatively short distance…” The demon’s words trailed off as it closed its eyes, grumbling some incantation in the back of its throat. This went on for a few minutes before its eyes snapped open and it zeroed in on a pile of rubble across the room.

“ _Inferno!_ ”

Flame billowed from its hands and there was an awful, high-pitched shriek. A small robed figure dove out from behind the pile of debris and began rolling across the floor, trying to smother the flame that had caught its cloak on fire. It finally had the sense to ditch the still-smoldering robe, leaping away from the pile of cloth and cinders and turning to face the League.

“Congratulations, it’s a boy,” Hal deadpanned. The rest of the team was too shocked to reprimand him – the necromancer didn’t look a day over 10. He tried his best to glare at them, but he was trembling like a leaf.

“Hey, calm down, we can help you, okay?” Clark assured him, slowly approaching the boy, “We aren’t going to hurt you, alright?”

“Speak for yourself,” Etrigan grumbled before grabbing the boy’s shirt and lifting him from the ground.

“Tell me who gave you these powers, boy. No mortal your age is capable of such magic without assistance, so _who is helping you_.”

“Etrigan, what did I _just_ sa-”

“LaFey!” the boy cried, cutting off the argument before it could begin. He was still shaking, but his face was determined as he looked the demon in the eye and repeated himself.

“She told me her name was Morgan LaFey. She said…she said she’d give me the power to bring my friend’s parents back if I did something for her.”

“Turning me into a dragon was her stipulation?” Batman asked incredulously, raising a scaled brow.

“Well…any of you woulda worked, I just picked Batman ‘cuz he didn’t have any powers…figured he’d be the easiest to retrieve...”

“Pfft. Horrible choice, kid. Really,” Victor chortled. Clark gave him a stern glance, but Etrigan interrupted before he could actually reprimand him.

“LaFey. I see. It seems my work is far from over. For now…” it set the boy down and began chanting again, causing the boy to vanish in a flash of light.

The League cried out in unison, but before they could give words to their indignation, the demon drawled, “Do not worry yourselves, I simply stripped the boy of his powers and sent him back home. We can do nothing else for him now. LaFey, on the other hand, needs to be dealt with.”

“Woah, hey, not until Jason restores Batman! That’s the _entire_ reason we brought you here!” Clark cried in dismay. “We can help you afterwards if need be, but first we need our teammate back.”

“Hmph. Very well,” Etrigan conceded. It turned to the Dark Knight and inclined his head.

“Farewell, Batman. I’ll be seeing you soon, I’m sure.”

“If it’s really LaFey, I have no doubt,” Batman agreed, returning the gesture with a slight curl to his lips.

Etrigan gave one last nod to the group at large before closing its eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I posted this one so late in the day. On the plus side, we've only got two more chapters to go! Thanks to those of you who are still checking in and reading!


	6. Human Again

Jason straightened out, admiring his handiwork. He had drawn another circle of runes on the floor in chalk and lined it with some kind of blue powder. Batman was regally curled up in the center, and the League nervously huddled off to the side. Jason wiped his chalky hands off on his pants and stepped back, just outside the ring. Clark watched anxiously as he pulled a small, beaten journal out of his pocket and consulted it again, eyes darting from its worn pages to the setup in front of him.

Apparently satisfied with his work, Jason pocketed it and planted his feet, raising his arms and clapping his hands together. He pulled his palms apart and drew his thumbs towards his chest, but left his fingertips touching, making a diamond shape with his hands. Clark expected him to begin chanting, but he hesitated, looking up at Batman. He spoke, so softly that Clark was sure nobody but himself and Batman heard, and asked, “B, are you sure? You won’t exactly have your uniform on when this is all said and done…”

Batman made an odd rumbling noise that Clark realized must have been a _chuckle_ , of all things, before quietly replying, “I’m sure, Jason. This is long overdue as it is.”

Clark frowned as he tried to puzzle out what they meant, but Jason began the incantation, causing both himself and the runes to glow. A bright blue light began to envelop Batman, and the chant became more fervent. The League was forced to look away again as the light became blinding, there was a sharp cry and –

Finally, the room cleared, and someone was softly groaning. Clark looked up and moved to help his teammate, but froze in place when he really _looked_.

He wasn’t sure what was more distracting – the fact the Batman didn’t have a stitch of clothing on, nothing to cover those sculpted, scarred muscles, or the fact that _Batman didn’t have anything covering his face_. The cowl was just as absent as the rest of his uniform. Clark was torn between admiring his heaving chest or the ruffled ebony locks. ‘ _So his hair is black…_ ’ Clark thought with a hint of wonder.

Another pained moan shook him from his stupor, encouraging him to fly to Batman’s side and help him stand, slinging the Dark Knight’s left arm across his shoulders as Jason moved in and did the same with his right. After making sure he had a steady footing, Clark released him and removed his cape, trying to tie it around his teammate’s waist without looking, no matter how badly he wanted to.

Task completed, he finally looked at the man’s face and _oh no, he wasn’t remotely prepared for this_.

Familiar lips that were usually set into a frown now looked considerably softer, curled into an exasperated, but indulgent smile. Deep blue eyes danced with mirth, and the sharp planes of his face looked like they could have been chiseled from marble. He was devastatingly handsome, and for one wild moment, Clark wondered why on _earth_ he would cover all that up.

He didn’t realize he’d been gawking until a callused hand gently grabbed his chin and closed his mouth. The smile slowly slid into a smirk and he finally spoke, not in the usual growl, but in a smooth baritone.

“The name’s Bruce Wayne. Good to finally meet you.”

There was only a brief moment of silence before the room burst into an uproar. Cries of “Batman!?!” and “ _The_ Bruce Wayne!?!” mingled with incoherent shouting and “Nobody told me he was _hot_!” Clark wanted to try and calm everyone down, but he was captured by Bat-no, _Bruce’s_ gaze, which hadn’t left him for the duration of the introduction. Their connection was finally broken when Bruce turned to a chuckling Jason, his smirk deepening.

“See why I didn’t say anything? I work with children, Jason. Actual. Children.”

“I think Superman said something to that effect when we first arrived,” Jason replied, eying Clark knowingly, who awkwardly coughed and tried his best to smother his incoming blush.

“Did he now?” Bruce asked, turning back to the Kryptonian with a raised brow. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Clark was deprived of the experience by Billy, who was shouting again.

“ _What do you mean you already knew!?!_ ”

When he finally tore his gaze from Bruce, Clark realized that the rest of the League was almost circled around Hal, who had his hands held up in a calming gesture.

“I mean he...told me once?? So this isn’t…really a surprise to me??” he awkwardly stammered.

“He already tol- _when did he find the time to tell **you** , of all people!?!_” Billy cried in outrage.

Bruce cut in before blood could be spilled, explaining, “I told him when we drove off Darksied. He was being an arrogant asshole and needed a good kick in the pants to reach his real potential. Part of the kick involved a bit of drama on my part.”

Billy’s voice became increasingly shrill as he shrieked, “ _You told him the very first time you met!?! What the hell man!?!_ ”

The group continued to bicker and absorb the information, but Clark tuned them all out the instant Bruce turned back to him.

“For the record, Clark, I wanted to tell you much sooner than this, but extenuating circumstances forced me to keep it under wraps a bit longer. Things in Gotham have been a bit ugly lately.”

“Uglier than usual? Must’ve been pretty awful then,” Clark faintly replied. He wasn’t terribly focused on his speech compared to the fact that _Bruce wanted to tell him_. That alone smothered the spark of jealousy Hal’s admission had ignited.

“Hey, only a Gothamite is allowed to trash their city,” Bruce teased, finally releasing his grip on Jason and straightening out. He turned to him and firmly clasped his hand.

“Thanks again, Jason. Looks like we’re _almost_ even.”

“Almost?” Jason repeated with a raised brow, “I think that should make us even, don’t you?”

“Not quite. Join me for lunch this Sunday and _then_ I’ll call us even,” Bruce smirked, releasing his grip and dropping his hand on Jason’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. His face softened a bit before he added, “Take care of yourself Jason. If LaFey is really back…”

“I know, Bruce, I know. Goodness, I’ve only been dealing with her for centuries, not like I’d know what I’m doing,” he said, rolling his eyes, but his face softened as well as he added, “But I’ll be sure to call you if I think I’m getting in over my head.”

“Good,” Bruce huffed, dropping his arm and turning away. Jason chuckled and took off, throwing back a casual, “Take care, Bruce.” He raised his arms again and closed his eyes, but before he started an incantation, Clark heard him whisper

“And _you_ take good care of _him_ , or you’ll be getting another visit from Etrigan.”

He flushed and sputtered, but Jason only cracked one eye open to wink at him before reciting another spell and vanishing in a bright wash of light.

Clark drew a deep breath and exhaled heavily, turning again to try and covertly glance at Bruce from the corner of his eyes.

Perfectly shirtless.

Wearing _his_ cape around his waist.

Smirking.

And for one terrifying, exhilarating moment, he wondered who, exactly, would be needing to take care of whom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The thrilling conclusion! All is right in the world again (kind of). Now, I realize there wasn't a whole lot of SuperBat for a SuperBat story, so I wrote a little epilogue that will go up tomorrow. It got a little out of control with the fluff levels, so brace yourselves.


	7. Epilogue

“So, you and Superman?”

“Well, it’s a bit early to say anything for sure-”

“Bruce, were you seeing the same person I was? That boy could have been knocked over by a gentle breeze when he got a proper look at you.”

Bruce just glared at Jason from across their table at the outdoor café, taking long drag of his coffee and ignoring the jab.

“We’re both grown men who don’t need to rush into anything. It’s too early for labels, Jason.”

“Whatever you say Bruce,” he breezily replied, looking at something just over the billionaire’s shoulder and taking a sip of his tea.

His gaze didn’t escape Bruce’s notice, but he couldn’t do more than raise an eyebrow before Jason smirked and a distant, “Bruce!” reached his ears. He turned in his chair and his other eyebrow joined the first, a startled, “Clark!” escaping his lips without his permission as the other man approached the table.

The Kryptonian was in his civilian garb, the usual ill-fitting clothes and thick glasses, but his bright smile held more of Bruce’s attention than anything else. When it seemed they were perfectly content to stare at each other for the rest of the afternoon, Jason cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Clark, good to see you. Why don’t you have a seat?” he offered, gesturing to the open space at the table.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to interrupt, I just saw you two and thought I’d-”

“Nonsense,” Jason insisted, “I was just leaving anyways, so take my chair.” He rose and pulled his seat out for Clark, smirking when Bruce glared at him, though the effect was ruined by the light dusting of pink across his cheekbones.

“Well, if you really don’t mind…”

“He doesn’t Clark, don’t worry,” Bruce ground out between gritted teeth, “Nobody needs a meddling old coot skulking about, anyways.”

Jason just offered him a perfectly innocent smile and steered the confused reporter by the shoulders, pushing him down into the chair.

“You gentlemen have a wonderful afternoon. I hope to see you both again soon,” he said, lifting a hand in parting as he left the café. Clark returned the gesture, and Bruce offered a gesture of his own, though it wasn’t nearly as polite and had Clark lurching to cover his hand with a quiet, admonishing “ _Bruce, there are children here_.”

Jason chuckled to himself as he stepped through the small gate at the front of the café, pausing for a moment just outside the cheery white fence to glance back at the table.

Clark hadn’t released Bruce’s hand – their fingers were now linked, and their joined hands rested between them on the table. His smile was so infinitely tender that Jason almost felt like he should look away, and he was murmuring something to a flushed Bruce, who was staring intently at his own lap. Clark leaned closer and said something else that caused Bruce to reluctantly look up, only for the alien to grin mischievously and dart forward to quickly kiss the surly vigilante.

Bruce’s blush grew impossibly darker, and it looked like he was ready to start sputtering, but instead he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When they opened again, his face was set into hard lines of determination, and he muttered something in response before carefully lifting their joined hands and pressing a firm kiss to the back of Clark’s.

Predictably, the Kryptonian lit up with embarrassment, but his smile nearly split his face in half. He leaned into Bruce’s space and began murmuring again in earnest, gesturing with his free hand while Bruce nodded and lifted his coffee to take another sip.

Jason just shook his head and turned to cross the street. He’d been concerned for his friend when he heard about his budding relationship with Superman, but if that amorous display was anything to go by, then perhaps his fears were entirely unfounded. Perhaps the hero from Metropolis would be a good match for Gotham’s vigilante.

Perhaps his dear friend finally found someone who could love him as deeply and wholly as he deserved.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it everyone! Thanks for all of the encouraging comments! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And hopefully I've converted a few more people into appreciating Jason Blood.


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